#almost 3k

So obviously the title is ‘Phantom’. It’s reboot inevitably that it’s gonna be the edgy, one word version of the original title.

For tone, leaning a bit into the dark/horror elements and getting a bit worldbuilding heavy, but also trying to keep a fun action feel that’s not too scared to be silly. Obviously, with me writing, being ‘half-ghost’ is a lot about being a community outsider and a lot about going through something traumatic and feeling like the you from before is gone.

Characters:

Danny Fenton

In the main show, he’s a bit of an ‘everyman’, so I want to get a little more specific with him,

He’s supposed to be a huge nerd, but he doesn’t act that nerdy. He’s pretty confident and straight laced.

I like the idea of Danny as a character who, especially growing up with Jazz and his parents fighting, wants to keep everyone happy, even when it isn’t practical. He focuses on trying to get people to get along and not taking sides, even when it’s a bad idea. He often ends up trying to make peace between Tucker and Sam and pulling the ‘both sides have points’, even when one of them is clearly wrong. He goes along with his parent’s ghost hunting while not believing in it, and tries to convince Jazz to ‘be reasonable’.

In Phantom form, his actual opinions start to surface. He’s frustrated that people can’t just be nice, and frustrated at feeling like he’s always cleaning up other people’s messes. He’s free to be opinionated, aggressive, and take action for what he believes. On the flipside, Phantom is prone to making irrational, emotional decisions and following poor priorities.

Besides being caught between two emotional extremes, he’s physically and metaphysically ‘caught between’ living and dead. His ghost form feels unstable and insubstantial, but, in his human form, Danny is hyperconscious of his own death. His heartbeat and pulse feel wrong‘.

Sam Manson

So I think the trick with Sam is every CW/Netflix teen show’s attempts to write very political characters, especially women, is… very bad. Very surface and ham-fisted. First, instead of updating Mall-Goth to E-Girl, go for a crunchy goth/punk/grunge look, especially for a rebelling rich kid. Shoes held together with duct-tape, big jackets she wrote on in sharpie, but keep the stompy boots.

Avoid the whole ‘haha she’s going too far’ and vegetarian jokes, and give her some specific local politics to be involved in (that can help inform later plots). 

As an ‘outsider’ teen activist, she probably doesn’t have many people her own age who don’t see her as weird and pushy, so maybe has an older group of acquaintances. Teen goth with phone contacts full of old activist ladies maybe? 

She has a very strong moral compass, but is insecure about her own wealth and privilege and compensated by being a bit blind on certain issues. She can also be unempathetic to people’s personal circumstances.

Tucker Foley

The teen Cassanova bit gets a bit cringy, so first I want to change this from ‘hanging outside the girl’s locker room’ cringe to ‘oh no, this 14 year old just read a wiki-how article on how to be confident’ cringe. He’s sincere and good hearted, but much more of a teen boy trying to be cool and it just highlighting his insecurity. As the show goes on, he becomes more confident as a Teen Hero and stops trying to impress assholes.

He’s a tech nerd from a middle class family, so is an expert at working with the supplies he can get. He is also prone to going to ‘hang out with Danny’ and then ditching Danny and Sam to obsess over Maddie Fenton’s latest tech. All attempts to be cool are lost in the face of Neat Electronics.

Jazz Fenton

Pretty much the same situation as canon. Her parents are immature, so she’s decided she’s Danny’s parent, but she’s also a teenager herself and not as mature as she’s decided she is. She barges in to fix problems when it’s not helpful/wanted, but she is also the only reason Danny lived to age fourteen.

Maddie and Jack Fenton

Mostly the same as canon. They do everything 100%, and don’t always notice the world around them. Jack is pure enthusiasm, and tries hard to connect with his kids while utterly failing to notice that they have their own interests and lives. Maddie is a little more perceptive, but easily distracted by her passions.

The family has a decent fortune on a previous Fenton Thermos prototype getting sold as the next Hydroflask. It’s a super trendy, high-class thermos, and Jack and Maddie are endlessly frustrated that their money comes from their world-saving ghost capture device being used as an actual soup thermos. It also means there’s a handy yet unreliable ghost thermos around whenever the story needs it.

Vlad Masters

A lot of Vlad’s goals stay the same, but a slightly more serious tone means he needs to be a bit… less stupid. He’s just as manipulative and self-centered, but he’s a bit better at putting on a polite face to get what he wants.

His ghost form gives him powers, but, like Phantom, it’s much more emotionally volatile. Vlad will often carefully set the stage, only for Plasmius to ruin it all for a chance to get one over on Jack or impress Maddie. If Vlad is trying to convince Danny to work with him, Plasmius will lose his temper. If Vlad is trying to attack, Plasmius will fall to base emotional manipulation.

Valerie Grey

Like Jazz, I pretty much like what she’s already got going on. Get pissed, join the villain, become a reluctant ally as a super and a protective GF in normal life.

Some Major Shifts:

-Tucker and Sam are not initially aware of Danny’s death and find out mid-way through Season 1

-When the story begins, Vlad and Jack are already ‘reconciling’, and Vlad is present around the Fenton house

-The sci-fi elements of the world belong purely to the human realm. The ghost realm is dreamlike and magical, while things like portals and shields are human ways of interfering with the metaphorical and metaphysical.

-Speaking of which, Danny is less ‘gene-spliced half creature’ and more ‘dead ghost possessing his own living body’

-Danny takes longer to become a known presence, managing to keep hidden for most of the first season, then going from ‘legend’ to ‘oddity’ to ‘yeah, the ghost hero, we all know him’

Ghost Powers:Keeping some Phandom lore here. Since it’s not a kid’s show, most ghosts can be actually dead people with regrets. Also keeping ghost cores and Obsessions because it gives an excuse for weird, campy undead on wild missions. (cores - a ghost’s center organ, and also sorta their soul, Obsession - the tendency of ghosts to become wholly focused on their passions or regrets to the point or irrationality)

For Danny specifically, I’m switching from Magical Transformation to Astral Projection. Part of this is for tone shift reasons, but it also adds a few narrative levers. There’s a ticker timer for Phantom to return to his body as Danny could perma die and leave Phantom stuck as a ghost. It also leaves Danny’s body open to possession while his ghost is away. (On the helpful end, it means his body can rest while Phantom does the teen superhero thing)

Phantom is naturally invisible and intangible, but becoming tangible forces him to become visible and neither is easy.

In human form, Danny retains access to extra strength and healing and, eventually, his ice powers, but lacks most of his more ghostly abilities.

Other Worldbuilding Things

The Ghost Zone serves two functions. First, it makes a cushioned pocket between life and death so the realms don’t damage each other. Second, it gives a place for those not ready to move on to dispel regrets. It’s intentionally separate from the human realm because watching the living world tends not to dispel regrets. Concepts from the human world tend to ‘echo’ there, and there’s a second society that some ghosts choose not to leave, sustaining a second life in the Ghost Zone. Most of the non-dead entities (like Clockwork) that live there exist to protect the Zone and keep it stable and functional.

Besides moving on, the way to escape the Ghost Zone is ripping through the border. It takes incredible will, so is usually only doable with a very meaningful ‘unfinished business’. It also does extreme damage to the spirit, leaving them weakened and confused. Entities in the ghost zone also work hard to prevent this as weakening the borders could lead to the collapse of the entire Zone.

The Fenton Portal created a weakened spot between the Zone and the living world and Danny ripping through it turned the weak spot into a permanent gap. Ghosts can cross full without damage and at full power, even if their goals in the human realm are mundane. It’s the gap in the fence all the local teens know, and it can’t be patched.

Stylistic

This will get me eaten alive, but I like switching the jumpsuit for pajamas so the ghost form has kinda loose, simple clothes.

Overall, the show brings big budgeting issues. I like the idea of using underwater footage to get ghost movement and get that floaty look. The ghost zone in general, use everyday sets, but with a strong purple light and a teal kick light. Using sets from other things and taking advantage of the nature of sets to wander between locations in ways that don’t make sense is a plus, but shoots could be at night pretty much anywhere.

I also suggest using different locations for the same location, for example, shooting a scene at a ghost zone diner at various diners, even mid scene.

Romance Thoughts:

It’s the CW reboot. There’s got to be romance, but I’d prefer to keep it on the back-burner. 

Personally, I think Danny/Val has that good ‘conflicting identities’ thing, and it’s a romance arc that isn’t obvious from page 1, which I like. Before that, I think Danny should have at least one tragic romance with a ghost.

Lesbian Sam feels stereotypically predictable, but I also enjoy the idea of shipteasing Danny/Sam before it’s revealed that Sam having a ‘crush’ on Danny has been a long series of misunderstandings as she attempts to hide her huge crush on Jazz. 

Tucker gets an internet girlfriend who nobody believes is real for a solid season. They met getting into petty forum wars over an MMO they both play. Once he has a girlfriend, he switches from Casanova to just constantly bringing up his Girlfriend, Who is Real and Hot and Plays Video Games.

Episode 1: Origin Story

Episode opens with Danny clearly stretched too thin. Sam has managed to force Tucker hiking and wants Danny there too, Tucker wants him there for emotional support, and Jazz thinks Danny should stay home and work on homework. Danny has promised his parents he’ll join them on a ghost hunt. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all point out that Danny doesn’t even believe in ghosts and he always lets himself get dragged into this stuff, while Danny insists this hunt is extra important to their parents.

It’s revealed that the reason for this importance is the Fenton parents reconnecting and reconciling with their college friend Vlad. Vlad is polite, but keeps subtly avoiding saying anything nice about Jack while paying attention to Maddie. (“It’s wonderful to see you again” vs “It’s been a while”) He brings gifts for the kids and asks about their lives.

Jazz is immediately taken with Vlad. He talks about her school life and seems polite and educated, an example of an adult who can handle himself. Danny is a bit more hesitant, pointing out that he doesn’t seem that happy to see Jack.

The Fentons excitedly show Vlad the new portal. Vlad makes an excuse to get everyone out of the room. Afterwards, he excitedly asks Jack to demonstrate the portal. (A later episode confirms he intentionally sabotaged the portal for revenge, but him getting people out of the room should be as plausible as possible so viewers can feel proud for putting it together). Before they can show Vlad, Jack rushes them out on a ghost hunt. He says the portal takes time to warm up

It’s a long, boring car ride. During the ghost hunt, there does seem to be an actual ghost. Danny keeps seeing glimpses of the haunting and is getting genuinely scared. The adult Fentons, meanwhile, are excitedly chasing various non-paranormal occurrences, certain it’s ghostly activity.

They come home late and Maddie insists the portal be left until morning so they can eat and get some rest. Danny decides to get online with friends instead. He realizes the computer won’t work because the portal’s on and tells his friends he’s going to go shut it down while he plays, then sneak down to boot it back up.

We see the ghost from earlier watching and static building on the portal. He reaches out to touch it and the scene becomes surreal. We hear Danny’s heart racing. Danny collapses and, at the same time, is pulled across the portal.

In the final shot, we hear dead silence, no heart beating, and Danny lying lifelessly on the floor. The camera pulls out and his ghost form floats on the other side of the portal, away from the body. He looks confused and frightened and, as the show ends, he’s pounding on the door.

Episode 2: The World Without You

Danny pounds on the wall between him and his body, panicking, and is pulled away by a female ghost (later revealed to be Ember). He’s angry with her, but she points to the guards coming to see what the disruption was about. She tells him he’d never make it through anyway, because he’s not angry enough.

She tells him that she’d never cross over herself, preferring to avoid the madness that comes with breaking through to the human realm, but his case is different. His body is still alive, and, if he returns, he could live again. She asks him what he’d regret if he died now, and Danny talks about his dreams to go to space. It’s not enough, so she attempts to get him angry, but it’s not working. He’s just sad and scared. Finally, she seems to have an idea.

They enter a ghost town and she walks him to an old-style theatre. There is only one movie showing, “The World Without You”. The ghost tells Danny everyone comes here at least once, even though it’s not anything good, but it might help him. She hands Danny his ticket and goes to wait outside. Danny sits down to watch the screen.

We cut to Sam and Tucker. Sam’s trying to text Danny to see what’s taking him so long and Tucker says he’s probably asleep. After an hour, Sam starts to panic, but Tucker points out he had a long day and keeps insisting fell asleep.

Jazz comes down in the morning and finds Danny dead beside the portal. She goes into fix-it mode, refusing to admit he’s dead. Maddie tries to force Jazz away and let the EMTs do their work, Jack looks confused and frightened, and Vlad looks shocked and a bit ill.

The scenes get faster and we see Danny’s community fall apart. Sam blames Tucker for saying it was fine, Tucker points out his death was instant and is sick of taking the blame. Sam runs away and Tucker loses energy for his passions. Jazz is furious with her parents, saying their obsession killed her little brother. Jack becomes obsessed with trying to contact his dead son, leaving Maddie alone to deal with the reality of death.

We cut back to the theatre. Danny sits in an audience of ghosts. All, including Danniy, are crying glowing green ectoplasm. He rushes out and towards the portal. He thanks his guide, and she smiles and tell him to ‘remember he owes her’

The same guards arrive, forcing Danny to fight his way past them. He makes it to the border between realms. Ripping back to reality seems even more violent than the fight, an act of rage against the unfairness of death. He goes to his body and attempts to line himself up with it, muttering hopefully.

There’s a pause and then we hear a strange, sludgy noise that isn’t quite a heartbeat. It speeds up, sounding more like a heart and more like static, building to a frantic roll, then stops again. There’s a single beat, then another, until there’s a strangely slow and shallow, but constant, heartbeat.

          It had been early in the morning, and Zoya was already in the arena, buzzing with excitement and energy as she tried to weigh the personalized sword given to her by the Queen, made by one of the best blacksmiths in the kingdom. The weapon felt light and heavy at the same time, and it was definitely much different than the wooden one she had grown accustomed to.

          She eyed the crafted metal in awe, the Z on the pommel glinting bright gold as she held it up to the light. It was truly one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen.

          “Let’s see how sharp you are,” she said, walking over to one of the training dummies on the platform. She rolled her wrists to hold it tightly in both her hands, and then she raised the sword to strike—

          The sound of the wooden doors slamming open and shut startled Zoya that the sword almost slipped from her hands.

          She whirled around, teeth gritted and ready to go on with a verbal battle to the person who dared to come barging in the arena, but stopped when she noticed a figure crouched down behind the doors. By their stance, it looked like they were trying to hide from something or someone, their ear pressed against the wooden surface.

          Who dared to disturb her here? 

          Voices and footsteps echoed outside of the arena, and for one fleeting moment, Zoya saw whoever it was on the door go completely still. She raised an eyebrow. Who in the saints' name was this person?

          She waited until the noise from outside faded in the distance, and let another moment pass just to make sure that whoever this person was hiding from was gone. 

          Then with a sharp tone, Zoya called out, "Excuse me." 

          The figure jolted. There was a loud thud and an "ow", and the person fell back on the ground, rubbing at their forehead. 

          Not a person, she considered with an eye-roll. But an idiot.

          By this time, Zoya was getting impatient and annoyed. Her morning was supposed to be spent in peace while trying to train by herself. But now it was ruined. 

          The idiot stood, hand still on their forehead, and faced her. That was the only time she noticed that it was a young boy. 

          A young idiotic boy. 

          "Excuse me," Zoya repeated, but with much sharper this time. Show manners, but make sure they hear your tone. She put a hand on her hip. "But who are you and why are you here?"

          The boy still had a wince on his face as he continued to rub his forehead. She eyed him closely. He wasn't from the palace, Zoya was sure, as she was familiar to all the people residing there. Unless he was with the visitors from one of the neighboring kingdoms that arrived here a few days ago. 

          But considering how he looked, the boy wasn't dressed like a royal she had expected him to be. His undershirt was a rumpled mess and there were a lot of dark stains at the front, and his breeches had been untucked from his boots. 

          If he were an intruder—

          Zoya gripped at her sword tightly. She had a weapon with her, he wouldn't dare to do anything. 

          The boy walked towards her, coming into the light, and Zoya pointed her sword down at him. Thankfully, this had him stop in his place just below the dais. His blond hair almost looked white out in the open. 

          "Should I repeat my question, or you just lost your ability to speak?" She glared at him, the kind that could make other people cower, but the boy seemed to be immune to it. Definitely not a person. "Don't make me use this to you."

          The boy huffed a nervous laugh, raising both hands in surrender. "I'm, uh—" He frowned, his eyes on her hand gripping the sword. 

          Zoya's jaw twitched in irritation. "Hey." 

          "Ah, right. Yes, I'm Nicky. That's my name. I'm with one of the visitors from Fjerda," he blabbered, the words coming out in a tangled mess. Then he pointed a finger to her sword. "And that's not how you hold a sword properly. Is that your dominant hand?" 

          Her anger flared up, and Zoya scoffed. The audacity of this boy to come barge in the arena without permission, and now he was going to lecture her on how to hold a weapon? 

          One thing became clear in her mind: she hated this Nicky already. 

          "I could punch you with my dominant hand," she said, "and in that case you'd know." 

          "Left hand, then." Nicky tried to walk up the dais, but Zoya held the sword steady to his chest. "Easy, princess, I wouldn't want to die just yet without seeing the annoyed face of my big brother when he realizes that his carriage is missing a wheel." 

          Another thought cleared: he talked too much. 

          "How did you know who I am?" 

          "Not really hard to know." Nicky gestured above his head with a twirl of a finger. He gave her a grin. "You still have your crown on."

          Her free hand shot up to her head, and, true enough to what the boy said, she had her small crown on. 

          Zoya sighed exasperatedly over her foolishness. It had been an instinct to put on her crown every time she woke up in the morning. Perhaps she should only wear it when needed. 

          She took off the crown and settled it over the dummy's head. When she turned, Nicky was already on the dais, posture at ease as if she hadn't threatened him with her sword just now. 

          "Did your parents even tell you about personal space?" Zoya demanded, tone almost a snarl. 

          There was a flash of hurt in his hazel eyes for a moment, but it was gone as soon as she could blink. He recovered with another grin that made her want to punch him in the face. "They did, but I think that would be at least a foot away from you, Princess, and I am currently very far from your arm's reach."

          Zoya found the punching thought very convenient now. "Alright, Mister Know-It-All, do you mind? I need to train." 

          "By yourself?" 

          "Do you have any problem with that?"

          Nicky shook his head quickly. "No, not really," he replied. He raised a closed hand, tapping at his wrist. "I just noticed your grip, it's a bit stiff and shaky. You wouldn't want that." He shrugged when he noticed her flat stare at him. "I am quite fond of sword fighting too, Princess." 

          Zoya deadpanned. "Oh, I thought talking too much is your expertise." 

          "That too, I might add. My instructors hate it." He winked, and then he gestured to her sword. "May I?" When she glared at him, Nicky immediately added, "You can trust me." 

          "How about no?" 

          To Zoya’s surprise, he laughed loudly like she hadn't just rejected his request. He seemed to consider everything funny to him. "Okay, fair," he said. "But just for a moment? I'll show you then I'll leave you to train in peace, I promise."

          She considered it for a moment, realizing that whether she agreed or not, Nicky wasn't going to leave anytime soon and she'd have to endure his presence for a bit longer. Or she could just kick him out. She was the Princess, anyway. 

          The latter actually sounded good to her, but still she found herself handing her sword to the infuriating boy with an exasperated breath. She'd humor him for a bit and hope that he stick to his word and leave her alone after. 

          "Take it before I change my mind in about a split second."

          Nicky's eyes lit up, and he grinned as he took the weapon. "Don't worry, you won't regret it." 

          It was quite true, much to Zoya's disappointment. Even though he could have explained some techniques in several words, she found his random blabbers funny and entertaining, and she could notice that he really indeed was fond of swords in the way he spoke. 

          There were still times that she wanted to kick him out of the arena when his jokes became too exhausting and she'd threaten to make him leave, but Nicky would just laugh it off and go back to explaining. 

          A few hours passed, or probably longer than that, but they didn't notice that much until the doors to the arena barged open again. 

          Zoya let out a frustrated breath, turning to the door with a glare. "What?" She recovered quickly when she saw that it was one of the guards in the Palace. Her frown disappeared. "What is it?" 

          "Your Highness," the guard said, dropping to a bow. Then he turned to Nicky with a grim expression. "My lord, the prince is looking for you. He is quite…furious."

          Nicky was silent, and then he laughed lightly. "I was wondering how long it'd take before he sends someone to come find me. He's a bit slower than I expected him to be." He turned to Zoya. He tossed the sword to his other hand and, with ease, flipped it around so that the tip was pointing downwards, before he handed the pommel to her. 

          She took it with a huff. "Still a show-off, I see," she said, shaking her head. She considered his demeanor for a moment, seeing amusement in his eyes but the warmth in them wasn't as vibrant as before. He looked disappointed, at least. "You should go." 

          "I guess I really should." He stepped back and went down the dais. "Perhaps I'll see you here again tomorrow?" 

          "You're still here tomorrow?" Zoya hadn't meant to sound enthusiastic as it might add to his ego again, but she still did, anyway. She blinked, covering up her eagerness with a frown. “I mean, if you’re still here, I wouldn’t plan to come here again.”

          Nicky smiled. “We’re probably here until the end of the week. Unless my brother throws a fit and is overcome with a dark mood,” he said. “No need to get too excited, Princess.”

          “No, I’m not. Who says I am?”

          “Whatever you say.” He grinned at her, and then bowed deeply. “It’s been an honor, Princess.” 

          With a final wink, Nicky turned and walked towards the door.

          Zoya watched him as he disappeared behind the doors along with the guard, and the arena was quiet once again. She didn’t want to think of it, but she kind of liked the constant jokes Nicky told her during the past few hours. Maybe he wasn’t that annoying after all.

          She looked forward to tomorrow.

 ---

When Nicky didn’t come the next morning, she tried to hide her disappointment all throughout the day. She asked the Queen later that night about the Fjerdan visitors they had and she learned that they had to leave the night prior because of an emergency. 

          Zoya only nodded in understanding. They would most likely visit again sometime soon, and maybe she’d get better with handling her sword by that time and Nicky wouldn’t be much of a smug person that he was. 

          She used it as her drive to learn faster and better. His next visit would definitely be a fun one.

 ---

But he never came back again.

*****

Their swords clashed with a loud clang, but neither refused to back down. Zoya could feel her strength dwindling from exhaustion since earlier, but she refused to give him the win. 

          She pushed back against his sword. “Tired, Captain?” she goaded, and sweeped her foot in an arc to the ground.

          Nikolai reacted at the last second and stepped back, using her momentum to hit the sword in her hand. It was knocked a few feet away and Zoya rolled over to get it.

          “Barely,” he said, but he was already panting as well. He lunged for her just as she landed on a crouch, and she raised her weapon in time to parry his strike. He backed away, giving her the chance to stand up and recover. There was a smug grin on his face, and she fought the urge to punch it off.  “How about you, Princess? Getting sloppier?”

          This ticked off something in her, but Zoya covered with a dark laugh. She rolled her wrist that was already beginning to feel numb. She had been in the arena for a few hours now, and Nikolai had the audacity to challenge her to a duel. “You seem to be forgetting that I beat you in that royal tournament, Captain,” she said as they circled around each other, never breaking eye contact. “That was only a year ago. Do I need to remind you?”

          He chuckled, and then lunged at her in a flash. Zoya sidestepped and whirled. Nikolai barreled past her, and she used the split second to kick him in the back of his knees that sent him toppling over. She bit back a laugh as she raised a brow to his slumped figure on the ground. 

          “Getting sloppier?”

          Nikolai stood back up, twirling the sword around his hand. Still a show-off. He ran a hand through his hair to brush off the fallen strands from his eyes. “Only for you, Princess.” He strode forward to attack, and Zoya raised her sword to ready her defense. 

          But he feigned right, and in an instant, he tossed his sword to his other hand and flipped it that the pommel was facing upwards. 

          Zoya blinked, the grip on her own sword loosening for a bit.

          She had seen that before.

          He bent down and stabbed the ground near her feet, causing her to snap out from her daze and step back. But it was already too late. She only had a second to see the triumphant smile on Nikolai’s face as he struck up and hit her hand with the pommel, effectively throwing off her sword again. 

          Nikolai was panting as he pointed his sword at her, using its tip to tilt her chin up. He smirked. “You were saying?”

          Zoya was still staring at him, trying to remember that one day from the arena almost a decade ago. A memory of an infuriating boy and his loquacious nature resurfaced. 

          Nicky.

          Was it him?

          Nikolai must have noticed her bewildered look, because a confused expression bloomed on his face and he stepped back, lowering his sword. “For someone who always won, I understand that you’d look shocked when you lost but. . . are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

          I might as well have. Zoya recovered and averted her eyes, suddenly finding her weapon on the ground interesting. She walked over to pick it up. “Yes, I am. Sloppy loss for me, I will admit. I got distracted for a bit.” She paused. “Good fight.”

          “Then you finally admit I’m that distracting enough?”

          She rolled her eyes and turned to Nikolai, who was already putting back the sword in the weapon rack by the wall. “Who says so?”

          “I don’t know, maybe you?” He chuckled as he walked back to the dais to retrieve his coat from the edge. “But now I know it still works, eh?”

          Zoya raised an eyebrow. “What was that supposed to mean?” she demanded, eyeing his retreating form walk towards the doors. 

          Then a thought struck her. Did he do that on purpose? Did he know? 

          Was it him? 

          Nikolai reached the doors, but before he could leave completely, he turned to look at her. There was a soft smile on his lips that made him look less than a Captain and more of an old friend. He gestured to his head. “At least you’re holding your sword properly this time,” he said, and her eyes widened. Everything clicked into place. What in the world— He laughed loudly and opened the doors. “Wear your crown again next time!” Then he was gone.

          Zoya was left gaping at the spot where he had just been. It took another long moment for her to process everything, but in the end, she let out a loud laugh that she didn’t know she was capable of doing. She shook her head in disbelief, turning back to the dais and remembering that day from a long time ago. A real smile found its way to her lips after a while, and a warm feeling bloomed in her chest.